Hotchkiss Self-Propelled Gun

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This vehicle consisted of a 7.5cm anti-tank gun or 10.5cm howitzer mounted on the chassis of the French Hotchkiss H-39 tank. The weapon and crew were protected by a high, open-topped fighting compartment in place of the original engine deck and superstructure. The result was a makeshift vehicle that was unwieldy and had a very high silhouette.Some seventy-two vehicles were converted during 1943 and 1944, twenty-four with the 7.5cm PaK and the remainder with the 10.5cm howitzer. The conversions were conducted by the Alfred Becker Company in Krefeld. They saw service in France during 1944, 10.5cm vehicles with 8 Panzerartillerie Abteilung and 7.5cm vehicles with StuG Abt 200 of 21 PzDiv.

This vehicle used to be on display at the Victory Memorial Museum at Arlon in Belgium before the museum closed in about 2000. The bulk of the collection then moved to the National Military History Center (known for a time as the WWII Victory Museum).